Ford, Barbara J. | The American Library Association Archives

Name: Ford, Barbara J.

Historical Note: Barbara J. Ford earned a bachelor's degree in history and education from Illinois Wesleyan University, a master's degree in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and a master's degree in library science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign [1]. Over her career, she held many notable positions, including the Assistant Commissioner for Central Library Services at the Chicago Public Library, the Associate Director at Trinity University, and Assistant Professor and the Department Head at the University of Illinois at Chicago [2]. From 2003 until she retired in 2014, she was the Director of the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs and Mortensen Distinguished Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library. She was President of ALA from 1997 to 1998, and her theme was "Libraries: Global Reach, Local Touch." She was also President of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) from 1990 to 1991. She was an elected member of International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Governing Board from 2005 to 2009, a secretary for IFLA's Section on Government Information and Official Publications, and served on IFLA's Academic and Research Libraries Section. Ford served on the U.S. National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 2011 to 2013 [1]. In 2012 she was the recipient of the Chinese American Library Association (CALA) Distinguished Service Award [2], and in 2016 she was named an Illinois Library Luminary by the Illinois Library Association [3].

Sources:

1. "Barbara J. Ford to Retire from the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library," University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, April 16, 2014, http://www.library.illinois.edu/mortenson/about/Staff_Images/Ford_Retirement.pdf.

2. "2012 CALA Distinguished Service Award," Chinese American Library Association, http://www.cala-web.org/node/1390.

3. "Barbara J. Ford (MS '73) named Illinois Library Luminary," University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Information Sciences, May 17, 2016,  https://www.lis.illinois.edu/articles/2016/05/barbara-j-ford-ms-73-named-illinois-library-luminary.

Records or Manuscript Collections Created by Ford, Barbara J.